Paper guide shield for business machines



Aug. 30, 1960 R. w. YERKS PAPER GUIDE SHIELD FOR BUSINESS MACHINES Filed Feb. 2, 1959 INVENTOR. R/CHARD W YER/(S A TTOR/VEV United States Patent i PAPER GUIDE SHIELD FGRBUSINESS MAGHINES Richard W; Yer-ks; Manchester, Gonna, assignor to- Uirdefi wood Corporation, NewY-ork', N32, acorporation of Delaware Filed. Feb.- 2, 1959}. Ser..Nb.. 190,530

8 Claims. (CE 197 -127? This invention relatesto paperguide'shields for business machines or the like and more particularly to shields made of. plastic material that require reinforcement for purpose of stiffness and stability.

Shields of plastic material are usually provided: where transparency is a requirement, suchas when the typewritten: or printed matter of previously Writtenz lines or certain markings are to be visible therethrough, forone reason or another, such as when orienting. the paper at a new line position. It is highly desirable that the stock from which suchshields are made be reasonably thin, not only for cost consideration, but more importantly to keep the weight of the shield at aminimum. In this connection it is to be. understood thatv weight added to a busi ness machine carriage always aggravates problems at carriage arrest, resultingin rebound shock, strain and noise; Weight added to the carriage is of course also detrimental to carriage acceleration, especially where the carriage is required to execute letter-feed steps. Where such shields arerequired to be of considerable length, as for example, when. they are coextensive with Yong carriages andwhere the printing of a great amount of information. on. a single line isrequired, the difficulties are further multiplied.

It is very Well. known that the use of a plastic commercially known as Lucite (or the like) is: a material wellsuited-for use as a paper shield. It is also-wellknown that where the shields were of considerable length they have been reinforced, for example, with application of metal strips or a bar attached thereto as by screws or rivets. However, such conventional manner ofreinforcement has many deficiencies. In the first place such a mounting presents an assemblycost problem. The metal strips or bar in the process must be clamped to the shield and great care must be taken. during attachment toapply even pressure at all pointstomaintain thestrips or bar flush with the shield to avoid cracking of the latter. Under different climatic conditions,- uneven expansion of the shield relative to the reinforcing bar islikely to result where the fastenings are localized causing the shield to furrow along its length.

It is the aim of this invention to eliminate, in connec tion. with. paper shields, warpingand furrowing while minimizing their Weight and. cutting the expense of the assembly. A very thin, stiff, light-of-weight, metallic tubular member is advantageously associated with the shield to attain a much superior. construction. The improvement is accomplished withoutthe use of localized uniting devices for fastening. the shield to the stilfening member. The tubular member 28 of the invention is preferably of steel or Duralumin and has considerable stiffness; it is preferably tubular because that form gives the-most stiffness for the amount of weight involved; it is'hard-surfaced and suitable for clamping and shifting paper edge guides thereon-without being subject tomar- The tubular member also tends to' give a clean and attractive aspect to the machine front and if applied in flwtion with a front feed shield it may serve; as a 2,950,802 Patented Aug 30, 1960 Z smooth and practical. gripping area toatfordfluid manipulations- It istherefore the over-all: object ofthis invention to provide apaper shield of-the general: nature stated which isover-all superior to prior devices.

It; isalso: an. object of 'this invention to. provide a rigid and economically applicable bracing orreinforci-ngrmember along-the lengthofa flexible paper; shieldto reinforce it evenly. along its full length. V

It-is. a further. object to-utili ze the reinforcing member, having. the above advantages as a mount. for lengthwise adjustable paper edge guides It is a still further object to provide a practical. and attractive front. feed shield of the above advantages for business. machines-that; lends. itself. to convenient manipulations.

An additional= and importantobject of; the invention is to manufacture the: reinforcing: member and shieldsuch. simple. form. asto be readily adaptable to existing devices of this. character with aminimum of expense.

These. and other objects will. become apparentv from a reading. of. the following. description. and. claims and from the accompanying drawings,- which: disclose,.by way of example, the principle of. the invention and the: preferredmode. of! application.

In the drawings Figure I is an enlarged sectional left side elevation showing, portions. ofafront feed typewriter carriage which includes a-transparent paper shield withthe reinforcing member of the inventionv secured. thereto and the adjustable paper guides fixedthereon.

Figure a detail isometric view of the transparent shield; reinforcing. member and paper edge guides of Fl igure 1,. as viewed from. the-left, front. side of the ma c me.

Figure. 3 shows in enlarged aspect the paper shield seen in: Figure 1,v in end. elevation, showing the reinforcing member exploded away therefrom, in full lines, and further showing it mounted thereon indot and dash lines.

Figure 4 is. a view similar to Figure 3 but showing. a modification inthe manner ofassociation of the reinforc-' ing member with-the shield, and

Figure S'is a detail isometric view illustrating a moth; fication in regard to the reinforcing member and: the man? per in which. the shield structure is. mounted.

Referring, now to Figure 1, there isv illustrated, by way or example, a portionof a carriage showing. a front-feed device applied thereto which incorporates" the feature of the invention. The front feed device includes an elongate shield 21 and a. member 28- in. reinforcing association therewith, the manner of association being brought. out in; greater detailas the description progresses.

Only one side of: thesupporting structure for the front feed: shield: 21 is illustrated in Figure l it will be readilyund'erstbodthat many of the members of'suc'h supporting structure are provided in pairs, that is, they areduplicated at opposite carriage ends.

Mounted on a conventional paper carriage rail -10 are a pair of carriage side frames 11, supporting a platemll in the usualmanner; Pivotally mounted at the rear and inner-portions o-fi side" frames 11 is' a bail comprising a shaft 13 provided with a pair of spacedarms 14 thereon. The bail is normally biased downwardly by springs 15 tothe position. seen. in Figure 1.. Pivotally connected to each bail a-rm-14;-asby a stud 16',- is a long'lever 1'7 reachingupwardly and toward the front of machine. The lower, rear portions 18 of arms 17'rest on. plates 19 that are: rigidly secured to the: lower, front: portions of thecarriage end" frames 11. The'plates '19 act as fulcrum areasfor the arms: 17 when the front feed: apparatus; is

I actuated or manipulated from: the inactive fiullrline posi tion to the form feeding dot and dash line position seen in Figure 1. Lever arms 17 at their upper, forward portions are bent at right angles, as at 29, and mount the member 21, as by screws 22. v

To place the shield 21 in the open or form feed condition, the shield is drawn forwardly, as by exerting forward pressure against the tubular member 28, whereby the rear, lower portions 18 of the lever arms 17 roll and fulcrum on the plates 19, giving the shield the dot and dash position seen in Figure 1. In such position, at least one of the bail arms 14 engages a stop 23. The bail, through pivotal pins 16 on the arms 14, maintains the lever arms 17 synchronized as the shield is moved to either of its two positions. Pin 24 in side frame 11 is normally engaged by an arm 14, under the influence of spring 15, and thereby defines the closed position of the shield.

It is preferable to have such type of apparatus as disclosed herein extend the entire length of the platen to accomodate wide sheets or forms. Therefore, it is of prime importance that the shield be rigidly and invariably reinforced along its full length. The shield 21 as disclosed herein, according to the one form of the invention, is grooved along its entire length on both sides thereof adjacent to one longitudinal edge, forming upper shoulders 25, lower shoulders 26 and a neck portion 27 therebetween. Shield 21 accommodates at its upper portion In the modification, although pins 38 are provided at intervals along the upper portion of shield 21, there is little or no localized or sporadic pressure along the shield. The pins are not embedded in the tubular member and cause no constrictive elfect. Nevertheless, in this embodiment and in one previously described, reinforcing pressure is equally present along the full length of the shield to render it uniformly stabilized.

Figure 5 illustrates a further modification, particularly in regard to the mounting of the shield structure. In this embodiment the lever arms 17 have been extended upwardly and formed as at 40. The extended portions 40 have been provided with holes therein and a tab 42 tubular member 28, which member is preferably of spring steel and serves to align and brace the shield to an even plane. The tubular member 28 is provided with a narrow slot 30 throughout its length and the opposite edges of the slot exert pincerlike action in the grooves at the neck portion 27. The width of the slot in the tubular member 28 is slightly narrower than the.width of the shield at its neck portion 27, the association at said grooves keeping the component parts rigidly united. The top, inner side of the tubular member 28 preferably hugs the adjacent edge of the shield, as best seen in Figure 3.

In the light of the foregoing it is readily understood that the tubular member is adapted to be assembled by sliding it onto the shield with the opposite edges of the slot 30 riding the grooves at neck portion 27 with opposite pressure thereon. So positioned the tubular member 28 will be restrained from any movement by virtue of its spring-like qualities and pincer-like action, whereby the opposite edges of slot 30 bite into the neck portion 27 of the shield. Member 28 may be of any practical form or material that has opposite gripping edges and pincer-like characteristics to act as a reinforcing member for a relatively frail shield. However, the best over-all results have been realized with spring steel generally tubular in form.

A pair of adjustable paper edge guides 32, best seen in Figure 2, embrace the member 28 and are clamped thereon, at desired locations, as by screws 33. The guides 32 are cut away, as at 3'5, and substantially match the opposite faces of the shield close to the tubular member 28 whereby the guides have a keyed or splined association along the shield.

Figure 4 illustrates a modification of the shield and associated tubular member shown in the other views. In this embodiment the shield 21 is not grooved but is of uniform cross section. In place of the grooves, small holes are provided at several places near the upper'edge of the shield and small, tapered pins 38, of proper length, are placed into the holes. Further, a wider slot than that shown in the other views is provided in the generally tubular member 28, but such slot is narrower than the thickness of the shield. Member 28 is assembled to the shield slidably with the pins 38 coming to lie within the tubing. Appropriate association of the tubing along one edge of the shield is enforced by confining the inside of the tubing, adjacent the slot, cooperatively with the pins 38, thereby imprisoning the pins within the tubing.

is bent off at right angles from lever arm 17. A collar 43 is fixed on the arm 17 at the upper portion 40 in any convenient manner, such as swaging, for example. The tubular reinforcing member 28 has been lengthened when compared with the showing in Figure 3 (but in all other respects is the same) and when associated with the shield extends beyond the ends thereof. With the tubular member 28 assembled to the shield, as hereinbefore described, the end portions 45 of member 28 are passed through the holes in the upper portions 49 of the arms 17, into the collars 43 and secured thereto as by set screws 46. The shield 21, at its lower end portion is joined to the tabs 42 by shouldered screws 47. A hole that may be slightly larger than the diameter of the shoulder on the screw is provided in the shield near both ends thereof to loosely accommodate the shoulder portion of screw 47 and thereby allow for differential expansion of the shield with respect to its fastening member.

In the final assembly of the modified embodiment the shield structure and the supporting arms therefor are firmly united and form a compact bail structure with the result that skewing of the structure is held to a minimum during manipulations.

In the modification shown in Figure 5 the shield 21 need not necessarily be grooved to contain the reinforcing member 28 but may be of uniform cross section and the slot 30 of the reinforcing member be made wider than shown therein. By virtue of the manner in which the reinforcing member is associated with the lever arms 17 (particularly where relatively short shields are concerned) its cooperation with the shield 21 is such that the grooves may be eliminated.

It should be understood that the invention is capable of other embodiments within the scope defined by the following claims:

I. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising, a generally rectangular plate of relatively flexible material, a substantially stiff reinforcing member associated with said plate along one edge thereof, said reinforcing member provided with a lengthwise slot therein, a pair of edges defining said slot in said reinforcing member, a neck in said plate, said plate being grooved on opposite faces to establish said neck, and said edges of said reinforcing member cooperating with said neck and said grooves in said plate to give rigidity to said plate.

2. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising, a generally rectangular plate of relatively flexible and transparent material, a generally round, hollow and stiff reinforcing member associated with said plate along one edge thereof, said reinforcing member provided with a narrow lengthwise slot along its length, a pair of edges defining said narrow slot in said reinforcing member, a neck in said plate, said plate being grooved on opposite faces adjacent one edge thereof to establish said neck, the thickness of said plate at said neck being wider than said slot in said reinforcing member, and said edges defined by said slot in said reinforcing member frictionally gripping said neck along its length and within said grooves in said plate to apply even pressure thereto along its length.

3. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising, a generally rectangular plate of relatively flexible material, a substantially stiff reinforcing member associated with said plate along one edge thereof, a paper orienting means associated with said reinforcingmemher, said reinforcing member provided with a lengthwise slot therein, a pair of edges defining said slot in said reinforcing member, a neck in said plate, said plate being grooved on opposite faces to establish said neck, said edges of said reinforcing member cooperating with said neck and said grooves in said plate to give rigidity thereto, and said means adapted to slidably and non-rotatably embrace said reinforcing member and be clamped thereto.

4. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising, a generally rectangular plastic plate, a generally round and hollow rein-forcing member associated with said plate along one edge thereof, said reinforcing member provided with a slot along its length, shoulders adjacent said slot within said hollow forming part of said reinforcing member, pins spaced along the length of said plate near one edge thereof, and said shoulders within said'hollow of said reinforcing member adapted to register against said pins whereby said plate is correlated with said reinforcing member and said plate is evenly reinforced along its length.

5. A pivotally mounted paper shield structure for business machines comprising an elongate plate of relatively flexible material, a tubular reinforcing member associated with said plate along one edge thereof, said reinforcing member provided with a lengthwise slot therein, a pair of edges defining said slot in said reinforcing member, said edges of said reinforcing member in gripping association with said plate to give rigidity thereto, supporting arms on opposite ends of said reinforcing member and fastened thereto to form therewith a firmly united bail structure, and means associated with said supporting arms to mount said bail structure for displacement.

6. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising in combination; a plate of relatively flexible material, an elongate channel member for rein-forcing said plate along one edge thereof, said channel member afliording a narrow channel opening extending lengthwise thereof and affording also an inner channel enlargement, said plate accommodated on said channel member to reach from within said inner channel enlargement outwardly through said narrow channel opening, and means on said plate within said channel member cooperative with the latter in said channel enlargement to keep the plate united with the channel member transversely of the latter for reinforcement thereby.

7. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising; a generally rectangular plate, an elongate reinforcing member generally tubular in form for said plate, the interior of said tubular member being appreciably larger than the thickness of said plate, said member embodying a narrow channel opening along its length affording plate gripping edges, said tubular member having said gripping edges resiliently pressing toward each other to clamp said plate therebetween for stilfening purposes, and means to keep said member and plate from separating from each other along said plate gripping edges.

8. A paper shield structure for a business machine comprising; a generally rectangular plate, an elongate reinforcing member generally tubular in form for said plate, the interior of said tubular member being appreciably larger than the thickness said plate, said member embodying a narrow channel opening along its length affording plate gripping edges, said tubular member having said gripping edges resiliently pressing toward each other to clamp said plate therebetween for stiffening purposes, and means on said plate and within said interior of said tubular member for positively keeping said plate from moving out from between said gripping edges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

